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A huge three-legged fire crow, surrounded by flames, descended.
The fire crow stood about seven or eight meters tall, making Yuichi Yuki seem insignificant before it.
"Are you the contractor of my tribe?" the fire crow asked, speaking with the voice of an old man.
Yuichi Yuki swallowed hard and nodded. Before seeing it, he imagined the fire crow to be the size of a normal crow, albeit with some unusual traits. But the sight of this towering figure completely shattered his preconceptions.
"Can a crow grow this big?" he thought.
"I am the Crow Immortal, the master of this place!" The Crow Immortal's voice was rough, and it pointed a wing toward a stone tablet with a proud expression.
"This is the symbol of our clan!" it boasted. "It has been passed down for a very, very long time."
Yuichi Yuki followed the direction of its wing and read the inscription on the stone tablet again in his mind. His eyes stopped on the last few words: Eat it to strengthen the yang fire.
"Is this really a stone tablet? Feels more like a recipe," Yuichi Yuki silently complained.
Suddenly, the heat around him intensified, and a chorus of bird songs filled the sky, accompanied by a "Ya Ya Ya" sound. Yuichi Yuki looked up to see a sea of flames descending from above.
As the flames approached, Yuichi Yuki began to sweat profusely.
Sensing his discomfort, the Crow Immortal cursed loudly, "Stop it! This is our contractor!"
At its command, the fiery sea dissipated, revealing a large flock of three-legged fire crows. Unlike the Crow Immortal, these crows were closer in size to normal crows, with three claws each. Their colors ranged from shades of flame, which seemed to indicate their strength.
The flock landed around Yuichi Yuki and the Crow Immortal. The lead fire crow lifted its head and looked at the Crow Immortal.
"Brother, this guy looks weak. He doesn't have any natural energy. Can he even lead us into battle?"
"Of course!" the Crow Immortal replied heartily. "He is our contractor!"
Then it pointed to the stone tablet again, proclaiming, "One day, a red-haired boy will lead our Fire Crow clan into battle!"
The Crow Immortal's declaration left Yuichi Yuki speechless. "You're not a clan, you're a gang," he thought.
"And what's this about a red-haired boy? I'm not Naruto, right?"
Yuichi Yuki, trying to suppress his nerves, asked curiously, "Crow Immortal, is your ability related to controlling fire?"
The Crow Immortal took flight, picked up a piece of black rock, and crushed it effortlessly with its third claw. "The Fire Crow Clan has sharp beaks, powerful claws, strong wings, and commands powerful fire techniques!"
"So, prepare for battle! The Fire Crows will follow your orders!" And with that, the Crow Immortal flew away.
Yuichi Yuki stood there, digesting the situation. Just then, one of the smaller crows flew onto his shoulder.
"My name is Big Crow. Don't worry about what my brother said earlier. He's kind of... crazy about the prophecy. But if you ever need us, we'll fight for you," she said in a gentle female voice, much softer than the Crow Immortal's.
Yuichi Yuki took a deep breath, staring at the stone tablet.
Sensing his curiosity, Big Crow explained, "This stone tablet is supposed to record our origins, but honestly, it's kind of useless."
"And the last part?" Yuichi Yuki asked, a bit embarrassed.
"That was written by my brother," Big Crow admitted. "Originally, he wanted to write, 'Eat it to strengthen the yang fire, burn it to death,' but there wasn't enough space."
Yuichi Yuki was dumbfounded. "He carved a recipe?"
Over the next two and a half hours, Yuichi Yuki learned more about the Fire Crow clan and their dimension. It was an independent space, similar to Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave, and the Wet Bone Forest. However, unlike those places, the Fire Crow clan had no connection to the outside world until now.
The Fire Crow's strength was measured by the amount of gold covering their bodies. The more gold, the stronger and higher-ranked they were.
Just as Yuichi Yuki was about to leave, Big Crow suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right. Humans can learn our abilities too."
"Wait, what?" Yuichi Yuki's eyes widened.
"You didn't know? You can combine it with the energy already in your body. You might not have natural energy now, but you can still learn from us," Big Crow explained after a pause.
Yuichi Yuki's heart raced. "Natural energy? I can learn it from you?" he asked eagerly.
Big Crow nodded. "Yes, though it will take some time."
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